Chapter 3.
HOW JORAM AND JEHOSHAPHAT MADE AN EXPEDITION AGAINST THE
MOABITES; AS ALSO CONCERNING THE WONDERS OF ELISHA; AND THE DEATH OF JEHOSHAPHAT.
FJAJ 9.12
1. WHEN Joram had taken upon him the kingdom, he determined to make
an expedition against the king of Moab, whose name was Mesha; for, as we
told you before, he was departed from his obedience to his brother [Ahaziah],
while he paid to his father Ahab two hundred thousand sheep, with their
fleeces of wool
When therefore he had gathered his own army together,
he sent also to Jehoshaphat, and entreated him, that since he had from
the beginning been a friend to his father, he would assist him in the war
that he was entering into against the Moabites, who had departed from their
obedience, who not only himself promised to assist him, but would also
oblige the king of Edom, who was under his authority, to make the same
expedition also
When Joram had received these assurances of assistance
from Jehoshaphat, he took his army with him, and came to Jerusalem; and
when he had been sumptuously entertained by the king of Jerusalem, it was
resolved upon by them to take their march against their enemies through
the wilderness of Edom
And when they had taken a compass of seven days'
journey, they were in distress for want of water for the cattle, and for
the army, from the mistake of their roads by the guides that conducted
them, insomuch that they were all in an agony, especially Joram; and cried
to God, by reason of their sorrow, and [desired to know] what wickedness
had been committed by them that induced him to deliver three kings together,
without fighting, unto the king of Moab
But Jehoshaphat, who was a righteous
man, encouraged him, and bade him send to the camp, and know whether any
prophet of God was come along with them, that we might by him learn from
God what we should do
And when one of the servants of Joram said that
he had seen there Elisha, the son of Shaphat, the disciple of Elijah, the
three kings went to him, at the entreaty of Jehoshaphat; and when they
were come at the prophet's tent, which tent was pitched out of the camp,
they asked him what would become of the army? and Joram was particularly
very pressing with him about it
And when he replied to him, that he should
not trouble him, but go to his father's and mother's prophets, for they
[to be sure] were true prophets, he still desired him to prophesy, and
to save them
So he swore by God that he would not answer him, unless it
were on account of Jehoshaphat, who was a holy and righteous man; and when,
at his desire, they brought him a man that could play on the psaltery,
the Divine Spirit came upon him as the music played, and he commanded them
to dig many trenches in the valley; for, said he, "though there appear
neither cloud, nor wind, nor storm of rain, ye shall see this river full
of water, till the army and the cattle be saved for you by drinking of
it
Nor will this be all the favor that you shall receive from God, but
you shall also overcome your enemies, and take the best and strongest cities
of the Moabites, and you shall cut down their fruit trees, (6) This
practice of cutting down, or plucking up by the roots, the fruit trees
was forbidden, even in ordinary wars, by the law of Moses, Deuteronomy
20:19, 20, and only allowed by God in this particular case, when the Moabites
were to be punished and cut off in an extraordinary manner for their wickedness
See Jeremiah 48:11-13, and many the like prophecies against them. Nothing
could therefore justify this practice but a particular commission from
God by his prophet, as in the present case, which was ever a sufficient
warrant for breaking any such ritual or ceremonial law whatsoever.
and lay waste their country, and stop up their fountains and rivers."FJAJ 9.13
2. When the prophet had said this, the next day, before the sun-rising,
a great torrent ran strongly; for God had caused it to rain very plentifully
at the distance of three days' journey into Edom, so that the army and
the cattle found water to drink in abundance
But when the Moabites heard
that the three kings were coming upon them, and made their approach through
the wilderness, the king of Moab gathered his army together presently,
and commanded them to pitch their camp upon the mountains, that when the
enemies should attempt to enter their country, they might not be concealed
from them
But when at the rising of the sun they saw the water in the
torrent, for it was not far from the land of Moab, and that it was of the
color of blood, for at such a time the water especially looks red, by the
shining of the sun upon it, they formed a false notion of the state of
their enemies, as if they had slain one another for thirst; and that the
river ran with their blood
However, supposing that this was the case,
they desired their king would send them out to spoil their enemies; whereupon
they all went in haste, as to an advantage already gained, and came to
the enemy's camp, as supposing them destroyed already
But their hope deceived
them; for as their enemies stood round about them, some of them were cut
to pieces, and others of them were dispersed, and fled to their own country.
And when the kings fell into the land of Moab, they overthrew the cities
that were in it, and spoiled their fields, and marred them, filling them
with stones out of the brooks, and cut down the best of their trees, and
stopped up their fountains of water, and overthrew their walls to their
foundations
But the king of Moab, when he was pursued, endured a siege;
and seeing his city in danger of being overthrown by force, made a sally,
and went out with seven hundred men, in order to break through the enemy's
camp with his horsemen, on that side where the watch seemed to be kept
most negligently; and when, upon trial, he could not get away, for he lighted
upon a place that was carefully watched, he returned into the city, and
did a thing that showed despair and the utmost distress; for he took his
eldest son, who was to reign after him, and lifting him up upon the wall,
that he might be visible to all the enemies, he offered him as a whole
burnt-offering to God, whom, when the kings saw, they commiserated the
distress that was the occasion of it, and were so affected, in way of humanity
and pity, that they raised the siege, and every one returned to his own
house
So Jehoshaphat came to Jerusalem, and continued in peace there,
and outlived this expedition but a little time, and then died, having lived
in all sixty years, and of them reigned twenty-five
He was buried in a
magnificent manner in Jerusalem, for he had imitated the actions of David.FJAJ 9.14